Printers' Marks

Great new breakthrough as I was making notes last night. There are a certain number of printers' marks from which most are derived (fiction). The last degree of mastery in the lore of the guild are the knowledge of the meaning of the 7, 12, or 13 basic marks. These are the marks that will guide Peter and Maddie to the final source. You have to have both the map and the key. The Printers' Marks are the key. Here are possibilities for the basic marks based on my investigation so far.

• The Flag


• The Anchor


• The Disk or Orb


• The Cross or St. Albans' Cross


• The Caduceus or Double-Helix


• The Lozenge


• The Spade or Shield


• The Pyramid or Triangle


• The Chalice or Bowl


• The Scroll


• The Sword


• The Diamond


• The Fleur-de-lis


• The Castle


• The Heart

The final selection will all be unadorned so that no human or animal is portrayed (idolatry) and excludes initials or monograms. I have a fairly large collection of marks that I'll post for illustration as soon as I get them scanned.

Interestingly, Gutenberg himself did not use a mark. The first was the double flag used by Schoeffer and Fust for the Mainz Psalter.